Ronda Storms, Dishonest Shill

Ronda R. Storms (born Ronda Rehnell Newcomb on September 5, 1965) is a Republican Party member of the Senate of the U.S. state of Florida, representing the 10th District since 2006.

Storms had an eight-year tenure on the Hillsborough County Commission (1998-2006), for which she is well known, and pushed a number of controversial issues. These issues included a fight against establishing the proposed Florida A&M University School of Law in Tampa, a campaign in favor of the sterilization of men and women convicted of child abuse, eliminating county-appropriated money for Planned Parenthood, and perhaps most publicized, her crusade for the county to officially abstain from recognizing gay and lesbian events held inside county lines, which was passed in June 2005 despite vocal opposition, most notably from openly gay topless dance club proprietor Joe Redner. She is also recognized by her quick tongue and often scathing sarcastic remarks, many of which she does not retract, stating “I am not apologizing for who I am.”

Well, given who you are, you probably should spend the rest of your life apologizing.

I suppose it shouldn’t surprise anyone that she’s currently shilling for the Discovery Institute, the Christian Supremicist No-Think Tank from Seattle behind the Intelligent Design Creationism Hoax that currently spends its time pretending to a scientific institution yet does nothing more scientific than post long whiny press releases and conspire to get their fundamentalist Christian mythology taught as science in high school classrooms.

It’s called the ”Academic Freedom” bill and it’s supposed to give teachers the freedom to teach the ”full range of scientific views” about evolution.

But should teachers have the freedom to teach the ”full range of scientific views” about sexual education?

Republican Sen. Ronda Storms said that Democratic proposal went too far and had it voted down on the Senate floor Thursday, saying the sex-ed measure not only didn’t belong on her evolution bill but that it could lead to “prematurely deflowering kindergartners and first- and second-graders.”

Seriously? People actually take this nutjob seriously? Apparently, there are enough flakes in Florida to elect her and others like her to the State Senate.

Continued below the fold.

Anyway, the latest is this ‘Academic Freedom’ bill that aims to open the back door of science classrooms to creationism (re-labeled as ‘Intelligent Design’, of course).

When called on it, she took the age-old ethical high-road known as ‘Lying for Jesus’. She insists that this bill is about the freedom to inquire about all `scientific information relevant to the full range of scientific views regarding biological and chemical evolution in connection with teaching any prescribed curriculum regarding chemical or biological evolution.’ When asked if this is just a backdoor for sneaking in ‘Intelligent Design’, she wouldn’t answer the question.

“The bottom line is if it is not scientifically based and if it is not scientifically relevant, the answer is no. If it is, the answer is yes.”

Well, in the real world, that would be a ‘no’, as ‘Intelligent Design’ is not in any way scientifically relevant, but in Fundy-World, this is just code-speak. Word games are a favorite tactic of Fundamentalcases.

Said Storms: “I absolutely believe that evolution should be taught in public schools. I also believe that we should teach the full range of critical analysis of evolution.”

Storms said her bill was designed to counteract the ”dogmatic” new state science standards requiring for the first time evolution to be and that “people are afraid. Teachers are afraid. And students, by the way, are afraid.”

Geller objected, noting her bill says the ”Legislature finds that in many instances” teachers and students have feared or been disciplined for teaching the full range of scientific information about evolution.

When Geller asked her for names, Storms didn’t have any but said six educators who planned to talk on the topic recently weren’t given the time to address a recent Senate committee.

Storms is a classic yahoo. “Academic Freedom” is a classic example of this: When you see something named in a particular way, it is time to run away. Christian science. Creation science. Academic freedom bill.

The evolution of the yahoo code-speak is laughable. It’s like they’re a bunch of five year olds so afraid of reality that they scrunch up their eyes and plug their ears and make up whatever story works right now, and then hope everybody else buys into the fantasy.

When asked to provide evidence in the form of names of teachers who are ‘afraid’ of being disciplined for violating that state standards she couldn’t. My that’s just like all the other IDiots who can’t provide any evidence for ‘intelligent design’ when asked. What a stunning coincidence.

I just wanted to say that this blog is awesome! I’d do mine this way under different circumstances… As it is, well.

It’s annoying enough that people like Storms get to be senators. But what really pisses me off is that someone like G.W. can be president. Pff! I’ve been putting up with him for what seems like forever now.

Thank you for saying so, Geomodal. I’m currently enjoying yours in another tab. I like it just the way it is.

I agree with you on His Holiness, The Glorified Houseplant Who Would Be Caesar.

And further, someone like him gets to be president because people first elected him to be in a position such as Storms’ (State Senator, Governor, what have you). It’s a truly scary thought that where he is now, she may one day be.